Page 1315 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 25 March 2009
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government and taken forward at the last election. But they mocked those policies. It strikes me that it is almost a case of Nero fiddling while Rome burns or, in this case, the minister playing with her abacus trying to sort out issues in Treasury while GP clinics close.
It is not good enough. It is something that we need to give our full attention to, and clearly this government is not. We have seen the minister’s limp response when GP clinics close. She is not paying full attention to this. We need to investigate this issue further. I think it is dawning on the community and this Assembly that we need to conduct further investigations into this issue.
The government have failed to take responsibility for this issue. They have failed to come up with an adequate response. We need to find an alternative method to provide fresh, new ideas to the government. In my engagement with Minister Gallagher I have heard things like, “Jeremy, just get over it.” We need an organisation that can actually go forward to the minister and provide her with some credible ideas.
Ms Gallagher: You still cannot. Write me a letter.
MR HANSON: I cannot get over what is such an important issue to the community. Maybe you can; I cannot. I am not going to get over the need for more GPs in the community.
Ms Gallagher: No, that was not what I said. That was not what I said, mate. Just get over my workload. Everyone else has.
MR HANSON: You get over it. You worry about your $200 million deficit; I will worry about GP clinics. The way we can move forward on this is to refer this matter to the standing committee on health, and it is my intention to do so. At this stage my intention is to write a letter to that committee to recommend to them that they conduct an inquiry into the shortage of GPs that we have here. My motion addresses the shortage of GPs and the way that could be addressed.
I believe that there is some consensus forming in the Assembly that would support such an inquiry. That support is coming from the crossbench and the government backbench. I understand there is an amendment foreshadowed to my motion. I will wait for the government backbench to speak to the issue. If that is the case then I welcome that. We want to see results. We want to see ideas. We want to see progress on this. It is not about who takes the credit. We certainly know where the blame lies. I await the response of the crossbench and the government.
It sounds encouraging. I am very hopeful that what we will get is a committee inquiry that can come up with the ideas that this government so sadly lacks so that we can move forward and see a reversal in the trend of reducing numbers of GPs and GP clinics closing.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Treasurer, Minister for Health, Minister for Community Services and Minister for Women) (3.37): Thank you, Mr Doszpot. It is because you were so nice to me earlier in the day that I get 15 minutes to speak. I am
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